North Carolina | NonOpioidChoices

State Facts

1,724

Deaths or 75% of all overdose deaths in the year ending March 2025 involved opioids.¹

2.5 Million

Claims, or 4.4% of all Medicare Part D claims were for opioids in 2023 – an average of 57 per prescriber.²

952,939 Prescriptions

for opioids were dispensed in 2024 – an average rate of 8.9%.³

$154 Billion

the estimated total societal cost of opioid use disorder (OUD) to the state in 2024.⁴

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Opioid Settlement Funds

$1,408,896,300.87

State Spending Recommendation

National approved use: providing support for non-opioid pain treatment alternatives, including training providers to offer or refer to multi-modal, evidence-informed treatment of pain.

Member & Endorser Footprint

Voices is backed by a broad coalition of organizations across the state united by a shared goal: ensuring patients have access to safe, effective,  and individualized pain management throughout the continuum of care.

Co-Sponsors (119th)

Sen. Tom Tillis (R-NC)

Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC)

Rep .Don Davis (D-NC-01)

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-09)

Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC-10)

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). Medicare Part D Opioid Prescribing Mapping Tool. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f1051d23738c4980a08002bf301f7d8a

3. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.). North Carolina Overdose Epidemic Data. https://www.dph.ncdhhs.gov/programs/chronic-disease-and-injury/injury-and-violence-prevention-branch/north-carolina-overdose-epidemic-data#data-dashboard

4. Avalere Health (2025). The cost of addiction: Opioid use disorder in the United States. https://advisory.avalerehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Avalere-Health-White-Paper_The-cost-of-opioid-addiction_OUD-in-the-United-States.pdf